


Everything Will Change Tonight

by bluewishdust



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-02-28 23:36:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2751392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluewishdust/pseuds/bluewishdust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merrill loses her keys and finds a woman named Isabela.</p><p>Modern AU in which all the companions are neighbors.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I somehow had to start writing this and I hope you like it! (also I am very sorry for any possible mistakes and I will try to post the next chapters as soon as possible)

Merrill’s hand shivered as she tried to ring the doorbell. 

This whole situation was kind of awkward and she was not sure if she should really… But on the other hand she didn’t really have another choice. 

Her keys were lost. Very lost. She had no idea where they could have gone. And this flat was the only one in the whole building with lit windows. 

There was no one she could turn to. Because it was late. Too late. Too late to ring a strangers doorbell. Because her neighbours really were strangers to her. The building was much too large, to get to know every single person living there. 

Of course Merrill knew a few people. 

She knew the nice dwarf who never stopped telling her the weirdest rumours when she met him by chance and who had helped her a lot in her first days confusing days lost in this city. He never was at home at this time though.

She knew the broody elf who lived in the flat underneath her and who never smiled, at least not when she was present. He was very pretty but Merrill would never find the courage to ring his doorbell, because he would probably kill her with a single look.

She knew the red haired woman who seemed to have control about everything in her life and who was nice and who always behaved correctly. She surely was asleep already by now because she had to get up early for work.

She knew the bearded guy who was so much taller than her. He was friends with everyone and had visitors all the time. Also there was a dragon on his doormat which was awesome. Whatever he was doing, she didn’t want to disturb him because he was probably busy with something and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know with what. Merrill knew that he also had siblings but she didn’t know, where they lived.

And she also knew this kind of crazy guy who wore his hair in a ponytail and who had too many cats. Although he seemed to help everyone all the time she couldn’t quite think that he would be pleased when she woke him at this hour. She didn’t want to disturb the sleep he desperately needed, because this guy always looked so tired when Merrill saw him.

Then of course there were so many other people, but she had never talked to them or seen them and the door in front of her lead to the only flat of someone who was probably still awake. 

Light was shining through the door gap like an invitation.

Who could live there? Would it be a nice person or an angry one? Merrill already with her hand outstretched to reach the doorbell still couldn’t decide if she should ring the bell or not. 

“You are a fool, Merrill”, she whispered to herself, “Why do you have to lose your keys?” 

Then she remembered that she could either ring that doorbell now or stay out on the corridor until someone found her and helped her. Since the second thing was very unlikely to happen right now, Merrill decided on the first one. 

She took a deep breath and rang.

For a moment nothing happened. The moment felt almost like a whole hour to Merrill. When she already wanted to turn around and run away, the door finally opened.

The first thing Merrill noticed was that the woman who stood in the door was very pretty and nearly naked. She had a dark skin tone and beautiful hair and a pretty face and golden gleaming eyes and a piercing and… so many freckles. She was wearing something like lace lingerie. Merrill got so distracted that she completely forgot, where she was and why she was there.

The women had opened the door with a very bugged expression on her perfect face but when she saw who stood in front of her it turned into a surprised one. When she realized that Merrill was just standing there without saying something because she was overwhelmed with what she was seeing the women ginned a little bit. 

“Did you came the wrong door?”, the woman asked and her voice was one of the best things Merrill had ever heard. 

“No quite certainly not”, Merrill mumbled and bashfully ran her hand through her hair.

The women leaned a bit closer. She smelled very nice. 

“You look like a lost kitten”, the woman said and giggled. “Why are you here?”, she asked. 

“I lost my keys”, Merrill began, “Somewhere… I don’t know, they were just gone all of a sudden. And I didn’t want to wake anybody up and I saw your light and I thought… Well I just would like to use your phone? If it’s not a problem I mean…”

The woman opened the door a little wider. “Oh…”, she said, “Come in then, Kitten. I am alone right now anyway, you were lucky about that.” 

Merrill hesitated a moment before she entered. 

“I am Isabela by the way”, the women introduced herself while closing the door behind Merrill.

“I am… I am Merrill”, Merrill said, “Nice to meet you although… Although I am terribly sorry for disturbing you.”

The women called Isabela laughed and it was a perfect sound. “You are not disturbing me”, she said, “To the contrary. I was very bored a moment ago and you are a pleasing surprise.” A suggestive smile appeared on Isabela’s face and she gently touched Merrill’s arm as she walked by into the living room.

“I am… a what?”, Merrill asked confused and very silently while following. 

Isabela sat down on a big sofa and looked at Merrill in a way which made her blush. “It’s a shame we never met before”, Isabela purred, “I am kind of glad you rang my doorbell out of all.” 

Merrill blushed even more and didn’t really know where to look and what to do with her hands. 

“What a cute little elf you are”, Isabela determined and Merrill got even more confused. Was this gorgeous women flirting with her? By the Dread Wolf what was happening? Merrill chough and stared at her feet. She had no idea what to do and she decided that it was probably the best to get away from here as fast as possible before… she embarrassed herself. Even if she suddenly felt like she wanted to stay here forever. Isabela… Suddenly this was more than a name to Merrill and her keys were not even that important anymore. 

Right. Her keys. She needed to get into her flat. 

“I should really take better care of my keys”, Merrill mumbled, “Although they are never particularly nice to me. They always end up everywhere but where I need them…”

Isabela smiled a little and it looked… cute. Merrill felt how all the words left in her head seemed to disappear. Oh Elgar'nan. She needed to get out of here. Fast. 

“So…”, Merrill said still a little lost, “Your phone… Can I use it or… uhm”

Isabela got up. “Yes of course, Kitten”, she said while starting to search underneath the pillows on her sofa, “I nearly forgot about why you came to me or… maybe I just don’t want you to leave so fast, you know?” She turned around and winked at Merrill. Then she gave her the phone which had apparently been hidden somewhere under all these pillows. “But still I will let you use my phone”, she added, “Who do you need to call? Just give me the number.” 

There was something soothing in Isabela’s voice and Merrill calmed down a bit. The she nodded slowly and started to search her bag for her notebook. Now that she thought about it she didn’t even knew who she should call. But there had to be someone. There had to be a number she could call, written down in her notebook. But where was the stupid thing? Somewhere in the very depths of her untidy bag apparently. Her fingers found something. It was not her notebook but… no that couldn’t be… 

“Oh”, Merrill said and looked down at the keys she suddenly held in her hands. Her keys. The keys which were supposed to be missing. “Oh”, she said again and hit herself in the face, “You are so stupid, Merrill. So. Very. Stupid.”

Then she remembered Isabela, who still stood there, her phone in one hand. Merrill looked at her with big eyes. “I think I just… found my keys”, Merrill whispered shyly, “I am so very sorry.”

Isabela laughed. “Oh, Kitten”, she said gently, dropped the phone on the sofa and came a little closer, “That’s great isn’t it?”

“Yes…”, Merrill said silently while she really meant no. Now she didn’t have an excuse anymore for staying. But… considering the thoughts which came to her mind when she looked at the woman in front of her it was probably better this way. 

“You can still stay for a while if you want?”, Isabela said, “We could still do… other things together?” A dirty grin appeared on Isabela’s face.

Merrill blushed and took a step back. She nearly tripped over her own feet.

“I… Well I have to leave. Now that I can return to my own flat I mean”, she said, “I bothered you long enough I guess…” 

“Alright, Kitten”, Isabela said and smiled while guiding Merrill to the door, “Will I see you again sometime?”

Merrill looked at her feet. 

“I… don’t know. Maybe?”, she said. She really wanted to meet Isabela again. Preferably tomorrow and also the day after tomorrow and the day after that and so on. 

But that wouldn’t be wise probably. Because Isabela was dashing and looked wonderful and perfect from head to toe and Merrill herself… was nothing more than a mess with pointy ears and big eyes.

She stepped out of Isabela’s door. 

“Thank you a lot”, Merrill told the woman with the thousand freckles on her bare skin good bye. 

“No problem my dear”, Isabela answered. 

Then, when she already wanted to close the door Merrill turned around one more time.  
“Yes”, Merrill said, “You will see me again.” 

Isabela smiled contently. Then she told her good night.  
The door was closed eventually and Merrill found herself alone in the dark hallway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merrill can't get Isabela out of her head and makes a decision.

The days when Merrill coincidentally met Isabela on the stair case were the best days for Merrill. Isabela needed to say nothing more than: “Good morning!” and suddenly everything became a whole lot brighter. The old stair case wasn’t that boring anymore and the sky outside wasn’t that grey. Merrill loved the way Isabela said good morning. She couldn’t quite stop smiling like an idiot on a day which had started like this. 

One day Merrill was looking out of her window, when she saw Isabela leaving the house. She couldn't take her eyes from her and watched how she walked down the street. Where was she going? Was she about to meet someone? Merrill didn't know it and somehow that was bugging her. She knew nearly nothing about this other woman and still she couldn't stop thinking about her. But why?

One night when Merrill was alone as always she started to wonder what Isabela was doing just now. Could it be that she was asleep already? Probably not. No matter how much she thought about it, Merrill couldn't quite picture how Isabela looked like when asleep. "Well you could just go upstairs and look if she's still awake, you know", she told herself, "But... you would probably get on her nerves." So she didn't do it. She just sat down and curled up into a ball of self-doubt. Still her beautiful neighbour didn't slip her mind until she fell asleep some when. 

Another time Merrill was so bored that she started to watch TV. She followed the film currently playing for a bit, it was some kind of romantic comedy. After watching it for a while she realized, that she had started to picture Isabela and herself in the main roles of this story and that made her blush and turn out the TV immediately. .  
What was happening here? She didn't understand. 

Some time had passed since their first encounter when Merrill finally realized that she kind of had developed a huge crush on Isabela. And she wasn't sure about how she should deal with this. Isabela was magnificent and it appeared that she had had so many lovers that she herself could not even count them anymore. And she was so incredibly beautiful. How was Merrill supposed to compete with that? 

For days she was wondering about Isabela and about her feelings and about what she could do in this situation. Merrill only came to the realisation that she just couldn't do nothing and that she had to do something about it because otherwise she would probably go insane. 

But what? Should she ask Isabela on a date? This wasn't even such a bad idea probably. She could at least try it. 

"It's normal to ask someone to do something together, right?", Merrill told herself, "Even friends do that." 

But she didn't want to be friends with Isabela. Not only friends at least. That she knew. It was a strange thought. Completely new to her. But this way of thinking came naturally and Merrill couldn't do anything against it. Not the slightest bit. She couldn't do anything about wanting Isabela so badly.

One afternoon Merrill took all her courage and went to ring Isabela’s doorbell once again. Her beautiful neighbour took some time to answer the door but she eventually did. She smiled at Merrill and that was enough to let Merrill's heart melt. 

"Hey, Kitten", Isabela greeted her, "How nice of you to visit me."

Merrill smiled a little. Oh she had nearly forgotten how much she liked Isabela’s voice. Why was she here again? Right. 

"I am not... I didn't came to visit...", Merrill began and her words didn’t quite come out as she wanted them to, "The cinema. There's a movie I would like to see. I mean, do you like going to the cinema? No... What I want to say is... Do you want to go see a movie? With me? Together?" 

When Merrill had finished she took a deep breath. Then she realized that she had probably spoken too fast because Isabela looked a little bit confused for a moment. But then a grin appeared on her beautiful face. 

"You want to take me to the cinema?", she asked with a certain undertone in her voice. 

"Yes", Merrill nodded with a determined look on her face.

Isabela laughed and it sounded beautiful. “Are you asking me on a date, Kitten?”, she asked.

Merrill didn’t answer and the tips of her ears blushed as she tried to look everywhere but into Isabela’s eyes.  
“So… do you want to come with me?”, Merrill asked after a while.

“I want to”, Isabela said and grinned and something in her eyes made her look like she was a pirate who had just stolen a huge treasure.  
“You pick the movie”, she added.

As Merrill walked back into her own flat she nearly walked into a glass door because she was incredibly happy. She would go to the cinema with the person she had a crush on and at this moment the whole world seemed more beautiful than ever before.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merrill and Isabela go to the cinema and not everything works out as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am pretty tired lately and I hope I didn't make too many mistakes but I wanted to update this as soon as possible! I hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!

Isabela was pretty excited. This was a thing that didn’t happen that often. Also she would have never admitted it. But any minute a cute elf would show up to take her to the cinema and she was very happy about that. It was a welcome change. 

Merrill arrived just in time. Isabela opened the door and needed a moment to find words. Merrill looked cute as hell. She was wearing a dress which showed most of her thin legs (or rather most of the black tights she was wearing) and her hands were hidden under the too long sleeves of a cardigan. Her hair looked a bit different from normal and Isabela was quite sure that she was even wearing some make up.

“Wow, Kitten. I feel underdressed”, Isabela tried to hide her amazement and looked down on her own rather unspectacular but quite revealing outfit.

Merrill giggled. “Let’s go”, she said, “We have to catch our bus.”

“We go by bus?”, Isabela asked while closing the door.

“Yes”, Merrill answered, “It’s better for the environment… Plus one station is directly in front of the cinema so it’s rather comfortable, you know?”

“Alright”, Isabela smiled. This answer surprised her. Normally she hated taking the bus. She decided not to think about it and followed Merrill, who was already heading towards the stairs.

……………………………

The bus had been nearly empty and the cinema was too. It was a strange time for going out. But Isabela didn’t mind. 

When they got their tickets, Merrill insisted on paying for them, but then she noticed that she didn’t have enough cash with her. The face she made while apologizing was adorable and Isabela wasn’t angry at all, that each of them had to pay for her own ticket now. 

There wasn’t much time before the movie started, so they went to take their seats. Isabela realized, that she had no idea what kind of movie Merrill even picked. The title didn’t say her anything. Evaluating Merrill however, it would probably be something cute or funny. Isabela hoped that it wouldn’t be too boring. 

Then Isabela realized that it probably wouldn’t even matter. She thought back to all the other times someone took her to see a movie. All of them had been busy grabbing her or kissing her in the dark, nobody had ever cared for the film.

Isabela looked at Merrill. She suddenly seemed very fragile in this big, dark chair. Her pale hands were playing with the seam of her dress. Merrill stared at the screen which was yet dark. Then she turned her head to smile at Isabela. Then she looked at her knees. “I am so very excited”, was everything she said after a long silence.  
When the lights went out Merrill whispered “It starts!” and smiled at Isabela a last time before she fixed her eyes on the movie screen.

After only a few minutes into the film it was pretty clear. This film wasn’t cute. It wasn’t funny either. It was just very brutal and bloody. 

Isabela turned her head and was already about to ask if they were in the wrong room, when she saw that Merrill was completely in her element. This wasn’t a mistake. Merrill was totally into it. Her eyes were wide and there was a permanent grin on her lips. The more bloody a scene was the more she giggled. 

Isabela was honestly surprised. She had never before seen someone so innocent being so fascinated with something that gory. 

Isabela tried to focus on the movie. It wasn’t even that bad. It was just unnecessarily brutal but the plot was even kind of interesting. Still she noticed, that her eyes wandered off into Merrill’s direction the whole time. The elf was very beautiful. Her eyes were mirroring the bloody scenes on the screen. 

It seemed like Merrill had completely forgotten about Isabela’s presence. But instead of being angry Isabela had to smile. What was happening here? She didn’t know.  
When she placed one of her hands on one of Merrill’s knees, the elf didn’t even seem to notice at first, but then gently and shyly laid her hand on top of Isabela’s.   
Isabela leaned back. Her hand stayed were it was, until the credits appeared on the screen. 

………………………………………

The whole way home Merrill couldn't stop talking about the movie and how much she liked it. 

When they reached Merrill's flat however, she stopped talking mid-sentence and stared at Isabela with sudden terror in her eyes. "Oh by the Dread Wolf... I am so sorry", she then said.

"What for?", Isabela asked and smiled.

"I wanted to go on a date with you and I wanted to talk to you about so many things", Merrill began, "I was so happy that you actually came with me but then... I only babbled about the movie the whole time..."

Isabela shook her head. "That's okay, Kitten. I had a lot of fun."

Her smile got even bigger when she added: "So you are admitting now that it was a date?"

Merrill blushed. She tried to open the door to her flat but had to stop because her hands started to shiver.

Isabela suddenly didn’t know what to say anymore. She was used to this. Going on dates, following someone home and then… There were a lot of things she would normally say in a moment like this. What exactly was never important, because it always ended the same anyways. They would end up in bed and they would sleep with each other and Isabela would have a lot of fun and then she would disappear the next morning and never return. That’s how it always went and Isabela had always been okay with that… until now.

It could be so easy. Merrill wanted her, Isabela could feel that. But something was stopping her from simply seducing the elf in front of her. Something was different. 

Merrill finally managed to open the door. She turned around to look at Isabela. Her eyes had a question in them: “And now what?”

Isabela didn’t know what to say. She reached out and gently pushed a strain of loose hair behind Merrill’s pointy ear. 

“I have to go now, Kitten”, she said and it felt like someone else was speaking, “We should repeat this! Now that I know what kind of movies you are into we could watch a DVD together or something.”

Merrill smiled and her face was full of innocence and affection. “Alright!”, she said, “Good bye then. And thank you a lot for… all of this.”

Isabela also told her good bye and winked at Merrill. Then she turned around to walk away.

What had happened to her? Why was her heart fluttering helplessly like a baby bird? 

Isabela was already out of Merrill’s sight when shook her head. This was stupid. Merrill was cute and Isabela enjoyed spending time with her that was everything. Nothing to worry about.

“Rivani, hey!”, a voice suddenly ripped her out of her thoughts. Isabela turned around.

“Varric!”, she greeted her friend who was leaning in his doorway. Sometimes Isabela forgot that he lived on the same floor as Merrill. 

“How was your date?”, he asked with a dirty smile on his face. Of course he knew. He always did.

Isabela smiled the same smile back. “It was great.”, she said.

Varric sighed. “Such a shame that you are going to break her heart.”

Isabela got confused for a moment. “I… I am not planning to break her heart…”, she said with the slightest bit of anger in her voice.

Varric rolled his eyes. “Oh but you will hurt her. I am pretty sure this girl is not used to someone like you and she will definitely be heartbroken when she finds out that she had only been a one night stand for you.”, he said.

Isabela shook her head. “I didn’t sleep with her!”, she told Varric, “We were having fun together okay? It was just a date…”

Varric raised his eyebrows. “Having fun together? Just a date? Without having sex? Are you sick, Rivani? That doesn’t seem like you at all”, he said. And with a devious smile he added: “Could it be that you have a thing for her?”

Isabela laughed. “Oh shut up.”, she said and fist bumped the dwarfs shoulder. She knew that he was right though and that made her worry a bit.

Isabela was about to go, when Varric said something else which caught her attention: “You know, you could bring her to Hawke’s party this weekend! Maybe it’s time for Daisy to meet the whole crew!”

Daisy? Isabela had to smile about this nickname. But the idea wasn’t even that bad. Maybe… maybe she should just go and invite Merrill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (if you want to you can guess who helped Merrill with her make up until the next chapter arrives)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merrill goes to a party and meets a lot of new people. None of them is as interesting as Isabela.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry that I am posting this only now but I have simply been too busy and I really couldn't update it sooner. As an apology I am going to post two chapters at once today. I hope you like it!

Merrill was a bit surprised when Bethany opened the door. But actually it wasn't even that strange that Hawke's sister was at Hawke's party too.

Bethany Hawke was very nice in Merrill's opinion. She had first met her on the day Merrill had gone to the cinema with Isabela. Bethany had stopped Merrill on the hallway. 

"I am sorry but I have to ask you", she had said, "Where are you going?"

"On a date", Merrill had told her with a proud voice and blushed cheeks, "I am going to the cinema with... someone."

"Well in this case...", Bethany had said, "You should probably... Well I don't know how to say it but you should probably reconsider your make up choices. If you are going on a date this is maybe a little bit too... much. I don't want to offend you but you look a little bit like a clown. I am sorry I just had to tell you that."

"Oh", Merrill had said and she had felt a little bit stupid. Wearing makeup wasn't something she was good at and neither was going on dates. But she wanted to look special because this date felt special too...

She had been about to go back to her flat to maybe change her look when Bethany had said: "Do you still have time before your date starts? I just bought a new makeup brush and I wanted to try it out so... Do you want me to help you with your make up?"

So Bethany had ended up doing Merrill's makeup and Merrill had left Bethany's flat feeling more beautiful than ever before. And this feeling hadn't even been about eye shadow or lip gloss. That was just a thing Bethany did. She made you feel beautiful.

And now Merrill was about to enter a stranger's flat to have a party. She was nervous. Isabela had told her who was coming, but the names meant not much to Merrill, she didn't know them. But the person inviting her had been Isabela, so Merrill hadn't been able to say no.

"Oh it's you. We've already been waiting for you...", Bethany greeted her. She smiled.

"You knew that I was coming to the party?", Merrill asked slightly confused.

"Oh I did", Bethany said, "Varric told us that Isabela invited you. You know Varric right? He lives on the same floor as you..."

Before Merrill could answer a dwarf appeared next to Bethany.  
"Did I hear my name?", he asked.

"Oh I know you!", Merrill said, "You were the one who lend me a map when I used to get lost in the city... Well I still get lost but... Never mind... Nice to see you again!"

Varric smiled and took Merrill's arm. "Why are you still standing outside?", he said and lead her through the door, "You came in the right moment, Daisy, we were just about to start another round."

"Another round?", Merrill asked.

"Cards", Bethany explained while following them through a small hallway, "They are playing cards."

Hawke's flat was a lot bigger than Merrill's. That was the first thing Merrill noticed. The second thing she noticed was an elf sitting on a big couch. She had seen him before. He was the grumpy one who lived underneath her. He was wearing a black tank top and Merrill noticed strange but beautiful tattoos all over his body. He looked at her. "Who's that?", he asked and his voice sounded incredible. 

"This is Merrill", Varric explained, "Isabela invited her you already forgot that?"

The elf slightly moved his shoulders and stopped looking at Merrill. He didn't seem to care.

"Where did the others suddenly go?", Bethany asked.

"The kitchen", the elf simply said and pointed towards an open door at the far end of the room.

While Bethany sat down, Varric took Merrill to the kitchen. 

"This elf was Fenris by the way", he explained Merill, "He seems grumpy at first but he really is a good guy."

The small kitchen was occupied by two people. One was the lady with the orange hair Merrill had seen a few times before (Varric presented her as Aveline) and she greeted Merrill with a shy but friendly smile while filling potato chips into a bowl. The other one was Hawke himself and he was even taller than Merrill remembered him.

He smiled at her and greeted her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You must be the one I've been told about", he said.

Merrill got pretty distracted by his beard. How did humans manage to grow so much hair in their faces? When she finally found words and was about to say them she heard someone else's voice: "Hands off, Hawke"

It was Isabela and she was able to sound humorous and very serious at the same time.

"Isabela!", Merrill called and turned around without paying any more attention to Hawke.

"Hey Kitten", Isabela said with laughter in her voice, "Maybe this party is finally starting to be fun now."

Hawke protested in the background but Isabela ignored him and came a few steps closer.

She looked gorgeous. As always.

Merrill didn't really know if she should hug Isabela or not and just stared at her in amazement.

Isabela did however hug Merrill without hesitation. Merrill liked the smell of Isabela's hair and she liked how Isabela's big breasts pressed against her own smaller ones. That was just the perfect hug-distance in Merrill's opinion.

The hug didn't last nearly as long as Merrill would have liked it to.

Before she could ask what they would do next Varric said: "Are we done here? The cards are waiting and the kitchen is a bit too small for us all to just stand around without doing something!"

"I am doing something!", Aveline protested and waved with the snacks in her hands, "And Hawke was supposed to do something too...."

"She's right Hawke, where are the drinks you promised us?", Isabela laughed while gently pushing Merrill and Varric back into the living room.

By the time the snacks and drinks were ready, everyone had gathered around a table and only then Hawke and his friends found out that Merrill had no clue about playing cards.

"Looks like we have to teach you then, Daisy", Varric said, rubbing his hands.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party continues and someone starts an argument (also there's something about sensitive elf ears).

Playing cards with Hawke and his friends was fun, Merrill thought. But she was suspicious that the others were secretly helping her because she never lost a round. Fenris was probably the only one who gave his everything against her, but he was so bad at playing himself that he was not a real threat.

After a few rounds Bethany disappeared into the kitchen and came back with homemade pizza after some time. It tasted delicious.

Everyone was still busy with eating, when suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Is there someone else coming?", Fenris asked in a voice which suggested that he would totally hate that.

"I don't know", Hawke answered while sounding as if he did exactly know who was in front of the door.

"Why don't you go and open the door, Fenris?", Isabela giggled, "Then you'll see."

Fenris glared at her but got up eventually. As soon as he had left the room, Isabela asked Hawke: "You invited Anders too?"

"Of course I did", Hawke said, "He is my friend. I can't just stop inviting him, only because these two don't get along well."

"Don't get along well is a nice way to put it", Aveline snorted.

Merrill didn't really understand what was happening and she wanted to ask when suddenly Fenris came rushed back while shouting: "I am not going to open the door as long as this guy is standing in front of it!"

Aveline covered her face with her hands while Bethany rolled her eyes and got up to open the door instead.

Fenris pointed at Hawke and said angrily: "You told me he wouldn't be here!"

Hawke sighed. Varric shook his head. "Here we go again", he said.

When Bethany came back with Anders, Merrill was surprised to see another familiar face. It was the guy who had too many cats. The one with the nice hair.

He looked exhausted but happy and when he noticed Fenris his expression darkened.

Only a moment later they were already arguing. Bethany somehow ended up taking Anders' side while Hawke tried to hold back Fenris. Varric tried to calm everyone down and Aveline started to complain about how immature everyone was behaving.

Isabela got up and took Merrill's hand. She drew the confused elf away from the scene. "Let's go somewhere else", she whispered, "They won't notice that we are gone now."

"But what about...", Merrill tried to ask, "Why are they fighting?"

Isabela sighed and opened the balcony door to drew Merrill outside.

"Oh Maker, that's nothing serious", she explained while closing the door behind them, "They've never been the best friends and some time ago they had a disagreement and they have been fighting ever since. I think the real problem is that they want to fuck each other. They want to fuck each other so bad that they have to solve their tension by shouting at each other because they are too scared to admit that they are in love." She laughed and added: "Just don't worry about it."

And Merrill didn't worry about it. Actually Merrill had stopped worrying about Anders and Fenris the moment she realised that she was once more alone with Isabela.

It was already dark outside but the stars were shining bright. Merrill's poor little heart was beating fast. Isabela's lips formed a smile. The moonlight illuminated her skin and everything about her was beautiful.

Merrill couldn't think straight anymore. She suddenly felt the urge to press her lips on Isabela's. There was nothing she wanted more in this moment. She swallowed.

"Isabela", she began consciously, "Can I... Well... There's something I would really like to do..."

Isabela came a bit closer. "I don't want to ruin the moment, Kitten", she said, "But before you get all serious I just have to tell you that there is pizza sauce practically all over your face."

Merrill felt the blood rush into her face and ears. "Oh no", she said abashedly, "Elgar' nan... I am such a mess..."

Isabela had to laugh. "Oh Kitten, you are just the sweetest thing", she said, "Now let me help you with this mess in your face."

Isabela wiped away the tomato sauce from Merrill's nose and from the corner of her mouth. Then she started laughing again.

“What is it now?”, Merrill asked.

Isabela came even closer. 

“Some of it even got on your ear”, she answered, still laughing.

Isabela leaned forward and for a moment Merrill was really confused until she realised that Isabela was about to lick the sauce off her ear!

Isabela’s tongue meeting the tip of Merrill’s pointed ear sent shivers down Merrill’s spine. A tiny and surprised gasp left her lips. Did Isabela not know how sensitive elven ears were? Or maybe she did know it and this was all on purpose? 

Isabela leant back again and there was a wicked spark in her eyes when she contently licked her lips.

“What was the thing you wanted to say before?”, she asked as if that had been nothing. 

Merrill needed a moment to find her voice again. This woman simply left her speechless.

“I wanted to tell you that…”, Merrill began, when she noticed something. 

Varric was looking at them through the window.

“Uhm”, Merrill continued, “I wanted to tell you that we are being watched.” She pointed at the window and the dwarf behind it.

Isabela turned around. “Andraste’s titts, Varric!”, she shouted and was through the door and back in the flat before Merrill could say another word.

Merrill giggled. She suddenly felt incredibly happy and couldn’t really tell why.

“How long have you been standing there?”, she heard Isabela ask. Then she heard Varric and Isabela burst into laughter.

Then Varric waved at Merrill. “Come back in, Daisy, you’ll catch a cold if you stay out there in the night”, he called her.

Merrill took a last look at the starry night sky. Then she had a hard time not to get all jumpy while walking back inside. The others were waiting for her and she was happy. What a beautiful night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after Hawke's party, Isabela wakes up and tries to fight against her growing feelings for Merrill. She? In love? Never.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really have to apologize (again) because this took me that much time... Please forgive me, I am just VERY busy lately. But here it is, the next chapter, and I hope you like it, even if it's a bit short probably. The next chapter will most likely be the final one and I will try to post it soon!

When Isabela woke up the first thing which came to her mind was Merrill’s incredibly cute face. 

“Andraste’s tits…”, she muttered while tossing around on the couch. Couch. Right. She had fallen asleep on Hawke’s couch the other night. Or had it already been morning? Probably the latter. She didn’t know.

She was a bit hungover and her head was hurting. Which was not a thing that happened often. That had been a hell of a party.

“Argh…”, she moaned while getting up.

Hawke’s flat was dark, the curtains were drawn. “Where the hell is everyone?”, she muttered while collecting her things and putting on her jewellery. How much alcohol had been involved last night?

Aveline had gone home pretty early. “I have work to do tomorrow” had been her excuse.

And soon after, Merrill had left too.

Merrill.

Again Isabela had to think about the elf’s face. And not only her face…

“Ah no…”, Isabela whined. 

Merrill had somehow become an important part of her life and was occupying her mind more often than not lately. Too often. Also she just couldn’t control herself when Merrill was around.

Isabela tried to think about something else. It did not work.

She sighed and slowly made her way to the kitchen. On the way she nearly tripped over Fenris who was sleeping on the floor. His head was resting on Anders' stomach. Anders was snoring, his hair was unbound and framed his head like a strawberry blonde halo.

Isabela had to smile. If they only could be this peaceful all of the time. “Someone will probably have to die when they wake up to find themselves like this”, she thought. It was a shame that they could not admit that they cared for each other in some ways.

“You don’t have to talk”, a voice in Isabela’s head told her, “You are not the tiniest bit better at admitting that you are in love.”

In love. Isabela grimaced. 

She was not in love. She had to think about Merrill all the time. And not only did she want to sleep with her, she also felt the urge to cuddle her and kiss her and…

But no. Love was a thing for the sloppy romance novels Varric was writing in his spare time. Love was not a thing for her.

She reached the kitchen with a grim expression on her face. 

“Where is Hawke’s damn coffee machine?”, she growled.

A cheerful noise interrupted her thoughts. Varric was sitting at the kitchen table, a book in his hands.

“Did you sleep well, Rivani?”, he asked her mockingly.

“Why are you still here?”, she asked him back, ignoring his question.

He shook his shoulders. “Just wanted to make sure that everyone wakes up again after everything that happened yesterday…”, he said.

“Was it that bad?”, Isabela asked and yawned.

“You don’t remember?”, Varric said and giggled, “Let’s just say after Daisy and Aveline were gone, nobody wanted to play cards anymore. Someone… And I think it was you… Had the great idea to seek out every alcoholic beverage in Hawke’s possession and get really drunk. And you know how much Hawke likes to sing karaoke when he is drunk… But yes. I am quite sure the drinking was your idea.”

“Yeah that sounds like me…”, Isabela mumbled. She was still looking for Hawke’s coffee machine. 

“Someone had to drown their feelings, ah?”, Varric said and observed her with his “I know more than you would like me to” look in his eyes.

“I don’t know what you are talking about”, Isabela grumbled and abandoned her unlucky search for caffeine. She sat down on the table and looked at the dwarf who just knew her to well.

“It’s Daisy isn’t it? You seem quite fond of her. I heard you saying her name in your sleep”, Varric said. He actually sounded a bit worried.

Isabela stayed silent and stared down at her hands. There was not really a way to deny his statement.

“But what is the problem about it?”, he tried to comfort her, “Didn’t you see how she looked at you? It’s quite obvious that she likes you too. Being in love is not that bad, you know?”

Isabela felt a slight anger grow inside her. 

“Oh yeah? Not that bad?”, she hissed, “And in what position are you to say that? Should I remind you about this one name you mention so often? This one story you never talk about? As if being in love was funny…”

She jumped up and rushed out of the room. She knew that she was being unfair. Varric had not deserved that. She had not intended to hurt him but… love was a stiff subject for her.

Isabela liked her freedom. She needed her space. As much as she liked getting close to others on a physical level… Developing feelings for someone was not what she wanted.

Loving someone, meant to be bound to someone and that meant not being free anymore.

Isabela had left the flat. Had left the house. Her steps were fast, she was nearly running now. She did not know where she was headed at, she had just felt the urge to get out. A cold wind drove through her hair.

Her feet dragged her to a small park somewhere in the neighbourhood. Maybe she could find peace here for a moment. Forget about…

Isabela stopped.

She stared at what suddenly was in front of her: A meadow full of… daisies.

This was just too ironic. Normally Isabela would have had to laugh at something like that.

Isabela sighed. “Looks like I just can’t escape you… Daisy.”, she said to nobody in particular.

Then she allowed herself to think of Merrill. Think of the warm feeling that embraced her when she was near her. Think of how much she wanted to kiss her.

“Oh fuck it”, Isabela said, and pushed her worries aside. I was time to jump over her shadow.

She was in love.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merrill finds herself confronted with a very happy Isabela and the elf gets a reason to be very happy herself...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the last chapter! To be honest I don't really know what to think about it, because it's maybe just... too happy, but this is fanfiction after all, so I thought why not make my babies happy. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it... Also thank you soooo much for all the nice comments and everything! I am glad you liked this AU!

“Kitten!”, Merrill heard a familiar voice calling out to her, “Get up!” 

Merrill opened her eyes. “W…what?”, she asked sleepy, still somehow caught in her dream, “Who?”

She blinked. Isabela was standing in front of her. How… How did she get into Merrill’s flat? And why was she sounding so happy?

“Get up, Kitten!”, Isabela repeated while looking down at Merrill, who was lying on her couch, where she had fallen asleep a couple of minutes ago. 

Merrill sat up and rubbed her eyes. “How… What are you doing…”, she tried to say while yawning.

Isabela opened the curtains. “Why is it so dark in here? The sun is shining outside”, Isabela said and her face glowed with happiness.

Merrill was confused. Was she still dreaming? Normally she was the enthusiastic and stupid grinning one.

“Is everything alright with you?”, she asked Isabela cautiously. 

Isabela looked at her lovingly. “Yes”, she said and there was a spark in her golden gleaming eyes, “I am just very… Well you could say I am just very happy.”

She giggled and Merrill had never heard her making a cuter noise. Isabela was so beautiful. When she was happy like this it was nearly unbearable. The tired elf blushed a bit and she needed some time until she could speak again.

“That is beautiful!”, Merrill said and suddenly Isabela’s smile was on her own lips too. The other woman’s sudden happiness was contagious, so it seemed.

“Is there… a reason?”, Merrill asked, while trying to order the mess of hair on her head.

Isabela was silent for a moment and for a second her smile seemed almost nervous. The she said: “Yes. I realised something. Something important. That’s more or less why I am here… But first of all, get up already!”

“Alright”, Merrill smiled.

Isabela took Merrill’s hand and helped her up. She somehow seemed to forget about letting go of her again when she was already on her feet.

“I like it when you are so very happy”, Merrill said before thinking about it, “I mean I also like you when you are not happy but… Wait…. I wanted to say I just… Well…. Oh creators now I stopped making sense again…”

“No it’s fine”, Isabela said, still holding Merrill’s hand, “I know what you mean. Also it’s maybe all your fault… Being with you is….Being with you is probably what makes me this happy, Kitten.”

Merrill didn’t know how to reply but she gripped the other woman’s hand tightly. 

A moment of awkward silence passed then Isabela coughed nervously. Was she… blushing? No, that couldn’t be… Merrill rubbed her eyes again, just to make sure.   
But Isabela’s cheeks were still slightly red. Merrill looked away. 

Isabela was holding her hand! And she was blushing and… Merrill’s heart jumped. Was this real? She was not dreaming anymore so… It had to be, right?

“I want to take you somewhere”, Isabela broke the silence, “There is a park I want to show you.”

“Alright!”, Merrill said enthusiastically and turned towards the door.

“Kitten…”, Isabela held her back, “I think you’ll have to put on something first…”

Merrill looked down on herself. She was wearing nothing but a pair of childish patterned underpants and a top which was a bit too small for her and did not really cover much.

“Oh by the creators!”, she cried out and squealed, “I am sorry… I didn’t expect any… break-ins.”

Isabela giggled. “Don’t worry, Kitten”, she purred, “I am enjoying the view.” There was this suggestive undertone in her voice again. 

Now Merrill noticed Isabela’s eyes wandering down her body, looking at her bare legs and her stomach and the outline of her small breasts through her thin shirt.  
The feeing made Merrill shiver. How long had Isabela been… looking at her? 

Merrill panicked a bit and shied away. She grabbed some clothes from there floor and rushed into the bathroom. “I’ll be ready in a second”, she called breathlessly while doing so.

She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Then she took a few breaths to calm down a bit. Isabela was laughing in the other room. 

Merrill took a short peak at the mirror. Her eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were hot. Her ears were bright read. She was wearing no makeup and her hair was still extremely messy. There was a smile on her face. 

Merrill was in love with Isabela. So much in love. She knew it then. Maybe being in love was what made her look so radiant.

She put her clothes on in a hurry. Somehow it didn’t matter anymore how she would end up looking, for Isabela was waiting in the other room. Waiting for her. The grin on Merrill’s face grew even bigger.

When she came back Isabela welcomed her with a warming smile. “Such a shame that you couldn’t stay in your underclothes…”, she said teasingly, “Although this random assemble of flower patterns looks good on you too…”

Merrill didn’t take time to answer, she just grabbed Isabela’s hand and drew her towards the door. She needed to get out. Her flat was suddenly too small and too hot. If she stayed any longer she would have to… undress again. This thought made her cough. 

“Let’s go”, she said hectically while closing the door behind them.

They were rushing down the stairs, hand in hand, giggling like teenage girls. 

On one of the floors they passed Fenris. When he saw them approaching, he made a grumpy noise.

“Good morning to you too, baby”, Isabela shouted at him and Merrill laughed. They kept running.

“What the hell?”, his voice followed them. 

For a moment Merrill wondered about how it could be that his black skinny jeans were covered in cat hair. 

……………………………

The park was charming. It was pretty small and strangely empty, regardless of the so beautiful weather.

The grass was too green and the sky was too blue. 

Isabela pointed at the flowers on the ground. “Look”, she said, “That’s what I wanted to show you. It’s a sea of daisies. And since Daisy is the nickname Varric gave to you, I had to think of you when I saw them...”

“That is so sweet!”, Merrill said. She kneeled down, careful not to crush any flower. “This place is really beautiful.” 

She looked up at Isabela who looked golden in the sunlight. Beautiful like you. That’s what Merrill wanted to say. But… Was it okay if she?

“Beautiful like you”, there she had said it.

Isabela smiled and sat down next to her. She didn’t say anything but she did not need to. 

She gently stroke Merrill’s cheek. “Kitten”, she then began, “I brought you here, because I wanted to ask you something.”

“Okay”, Merrill answered while leaning into her touch, “Ask me!”

Isabela sighed. “Alright…”, she then began, “Can I kiss you? Because I really want to.”

Merrill was more than a bit surprised by that question.

“Isabela!”, she said, “I… Why are you asking me that? You are so wonderful. And you have certainly kissed a lot of people. Why are you… Did I gave you the feeling that I wouldn’t like to kiss you? Because I really… I really would like to… I guess. But… Why did you have to ask I mean… Oh by the Dread Wolf, I am babbling again, am I not? I am…. Oh creators! Yes. You can kiss me. Please!”

Merrill had to cover her face in her hands for a moment. Was this really happening right now? 

“Look, Kitten”, Isabela tried to explain, “It’s just… You are special, do you get this? Kissing someone was never important to me, you see? I just did it, when it felt right, but… When it comes to true love the first kiss is important, right? I had to ask.”

Merrill looked at Isabela with big eyes. “What?”, she asked shrilly, “I think my ears were not working there for a moment?”

Isabela smiled. “I love you”, she whispered.

Merrill got the feeling that her confused brain had stopped working completely now.

“Okay”, she said and then added: “No wait… What? You actually are in love with me?”

Isabela did not repeat herself. But the way she looked at Merrill was answer enough. 

When Merrill realised what just had happened she said “I love you too” so fast, that it just came out as a blurry sequence of letters. It was good enough for Isabela to understand. She hugged the elf tightly.

They were silent for a moment, just feeling the warmth of each other’s bodies. 

“What about the kiss now?”, Merrill then asked, mumbling her words into Isabela’s shirt.

“Yes, right”, Isabela said and let go of Merrill for a moment to look into her eyes. 

Their faces came closer and Merrill closed her eyes, when Isabela suddenly turned away, laughing hysterically.

“What is it?”, Merrill asked, “Are you alright? Did I do something wrong? You know how to kiss people don’t you?”

“I am sorry”, Isabela gasped, “Oh maker’s breath! I am… I am nervous. I don’t know… That never happened to me before? You do things to me, Kitten! I feel like a school girl talking to her crush…”

She looked really confused and helpless for a moment and Merrill was filled up by a wave of affection.

The elf reached out for Isabela and put both of her hands on the other woman’s head.

“It’s alright”, she said.

Then they kissed. 

……………

Neither of them realised how fast time passed. They had not been talking a lot, not as in using words at least, and now Merrill noticed, that the sun was already setting and that it was slowly becoming colder. Dark clouds had covered the sky and the air smelled like rain and Merrill and Isabela had been so busy with looking at each other that they had not noticed.

When Isabela and Merrill were about to leave, the first rain drops started falling down and before they could seek any shelter, a heavy thunderstorm had broken lose. 

Squealing they started running for cover, but it was already too late to run. Both women where sopping wet within seconds. 

Merrill stopped and threw her hands into the air. She laughed and screamed and at some point Isabela joined her. 

They were dancing through the rain and somehow they ended up in each other’s arms. They kissed again in the pouring rain and their lips were cold. Their clothes were soaked and their fingers, tracing invisible lines on their bodies, were icy. Nothing of this mattered. They had found each other and for the moment everything was… perfect.

“Let’s get home before we catch a cold”, Isabela whispered into Merrill’s ear. 

“Yes”, Merrill answered and smiled. 

“We have to get rid of these wet clothes”, she then added in a wicked tone which was yet unknown to Isabela, “I want to know what colour of underwear you are wearing. And then… Then I want to know… What you look like without your underwear on.”

Her words were spoken in a new confidence but she still blushed. 

Isabela stroke Merrill’s head. “Sounds like a plan to me”, she purred lovingly. 

They walked home hand in hand, while the rain gradually stopped. The sun, which was nearly set at this point, dipped everything in gold light. 

Everything was about to change tonight.


End file.
